Pennies in the Record Player

I was naturally drawn to breaking things as a child.
Not in the obvious ways—it was curiosity.
I didn’t really even think about it.
It was just something I did.

Dad had this stereo system in the living room.
I remember playing with it: dropping the needle onto records,
making cool sounds by speeding them up, slowing them down,
and knocking the needle across the surface.

If I had known what DJ’ing was at that age—maybe four or so—
I think I would have gravitated toward that.

My curiosity didn’t stop there.
Every toy I ever got as a child would eventually find itself being dissected by me.
Just for fun.
I wanted to see how things worked.

Putting them back together… that was a different story.
Most of the time, I just didn’t care to.
When I did, it was a 50/50 chance it would work again.